Havlíček on Czech TV fees, ANO’s Senate defeat and gas prices

First Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček said the government is changing not the laws on Czech Television and Czech Radio, but only the way they are funded. In an interview he also admitted the ANO movement's failure in the Senate elections, explained its weak result in Prague and described what expensive gas means for Czechia.

Why the fees for Czech Television and Radio are being scrapped

Polls show that abolishing the fees is, at the very least, not a priority for voters. Havlíček replies that most voters do want it, but that the government is not guided by polls alone: it promised this and wants to join the majority of European countries that have already done it. In his words, this is not an attack on public media, which are irreplaceable in some situations.

The cabinet, he says, demands savings from all state institutions, from the Office of the Government and the presidential offices to the Chamber of Deputies, state organizations and public media. In his own ministry alone, according to Havlíček, a tenth of the staff has been cut. He recalled that in Britain the BBC is discussing 15 percent savings and employees are upset, and he suggested that there will be discontent in Czechia too. But wanting savings, the minister stressed, does not mean taking anyone’s freedom of speech away.

Asked about the point that Czech Television’s funding would in effect return to the 2008 level, he replied that the 2024 base matters more, since the preliminary budget is tied to it, and that any firm that has been through a period of austerity will confirm it is feasible.

The Senate, Prague and the “lost cup”

Havlíček called the zero result in the Senate a failure, although after the first round thirteen candidates advancing was not a bad number. Part of the reason, he said, is that ANO is now in government and its leaders did not have time to tour the country as they used to. If the party had won four seats, which he thought was possible, it would have had the second-strongest group. He put it in football terms: “we are the clear leaders of the league, but we lost the cup.”

In the municipal elections ANO still won among the parties, although the losses in Ústí nad Labem and Zlín upset him. In Prague, ANO took almost 20 percent in the parliamentary elections, but now only just over 14 percent. Havlíček explained this by the capital’s liberal leanings and cited New York, where socialists win. As for the “restart” of the movement that Andrej Babiš has spoken about, ANO’s leadership will discuss it first.

The minister insists that business is happy with a predictable environment: a lot has been done in energy, investment support, technical education, the building act and economic diplomacy.

Threats against a journalist and the coalition

Asked about an anonymous person who threatened journalist Karolína Brodníčková with death, and about a comment by SPD lawmaker Josef Nerušil, Havlíček said he absolutely condemns any threats. He does not consider the conduct of the SPD and the Motorists radical, only sharper, and stressed that he cannot answer for all members of the coalition. He declined for now to comment on whether a presidential candidate will be put forward.

Gas, electricity and the methane regulation

The war in the Middle East is in its eighth month. According to Havlíček, the price of gas in Europe is “tragic”: up to nine times higher than in the United States and up to three times higher than in January, which is why electricity is also very expensive. By energy inflation Czechia is now second or third among countries, and prices are still being kept under control, but it will get harder every month. About as much oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz as before the war, while gas supplies are at about a third of their former level.

He recalled that the government scrapped the “green tax”, that is, the contributions to renewable energy sources: the state took over the costs, and electricity became a tenth cheaper.

Under pressure from Czechia and other countries, the European Commission has proposed postponing by a year the obligations of fossil fuel importers under the methane regulation. According to Havlíček, Czechia won 19 countries over to its side. Without the delay, gas and oil from third countries would face a demanding control system from January, which in his estimation would raise prices. On Monday he met Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen and said that Czechia will push for three years rather than one.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz